How Public Relations Can Help Your Small Business Grow

PR: An Essential Cornerstone to Every Business Plan 

When small business owners create a business plan they often include advertising but neglect to include public relations, one of the most cost-effective methods for small businesses to raise awareness.   I think that the reason is simple – we encounter advertising on a daily basis so it is more familiar, but many are unaware of the role that PR plays in the articles they read. In most cases, public relations is much less expensive than advertising, and can be incredibly valuable to a small business.  Depending on how hard you’re willing to work, PR can even be free.  Small businesses have tight budgets and will typically get more for their money when choosing PR over advertising.

If you’re a small business that’s weighing the benefits of advertising vs. public relations, here are some reasons why you should consider making public relations a cornerstone of your company’s growth strategy.

When a consumer sees third party coverage of a product or service, it is perceived much differently than a traditional advertisement.  When we see an advertisement, we know the company is trying to sell us something.  When a third party, such as the media, endorses a product or service, the company gains credibility.  Consumers are much more likely to make a purchase based on third party endorsement than an advertisement.

A consistent public relations program will help build general awareness of your product, service or brand and will supplement any direct marketing and advertising efforts.  This visibility also tends to make your business appear larger and more established than it may be, which may help you secure partnerships, customers and funding.

Chances are the last time you made a purchase you used a search engine to do some online research.  Public relations can help you capitalize on this process. An article at on online news outlet, a broadcast clip posted online, or a news release distributed to web outlets – all of these provide valuable inbound links to your website that increase your rank in Google.

PR is also good for your bottom line. PR is much less expensive than advertising and the benefits of PR can be much more substantial than the benefits of advertising. One good media placement can lead to a substantial increase in sales and tremendous growth, and because many small businesses have a unique story to tell, they are interesting to the media.

If you are after assistance in your PR plan, contact Tony Park - Head Gardener at Business Gardener

tony@businessgardener.com.au 

PR is a great way to grow your business

 PR can help you create awareness of your company and your services.

PR is a great way to generate leads for your marketing pipeline and it all starts by defining who you are and why people should buy from you. When you have completed those first steps, your next step is to take your message out into the world!  

Lets look at how to promote your business with a press release.

Press Releases

Developing a press release – and getting it covered in publications from your target market – adds credibility to your message and delivers that credible message to your audience.

A press release should announce something newsworthy.  Hiring new people, adding additional services, bringing on new clients, and purchasing new equipment are all announcements that are worthy of a press release. These types of announcements show how your business is growing, and there’s not much better news to share with your target market!

When writing the release, you want to answer the questions – who, what, where, when and why. The most important of these questions is the why. Why should someone care about this news?

For example, if you have acquired a new customer, your announcement can say:

Acme Print and Marketing Services is pleased to announce that The Big Bank has chosen Acme to handle all of their print production and direct marketing communications needs. The Big Bank is another example of Acme’s expanding role as a leader in providing print and marketing to organizations in the financial services industry. 

The news is that The Big Bank has become a client; the story is that Acme is now becoming a go-to resource for the financial services industry.

Note that if you are announcing the purchase of new equipment or technology, the vendor you buy from is usually more than happy to write a press release about your purchase. These vendors are sometimes able to get coverage in publications and sites where you might not be able to, so be sure to ask!

Distributing the Press Release

Once you have finalized the press release, (and received approval from any customers or vendors that you mention) send your press release to publications and websites that cover your industry and reach the target audience you are trying to connect with. This may require a bit of research, but you want to be sure you are speaking to an audience who cares about your message.

In our Acme Service Provider example, it would be beneficial to reach out to publications that focus on marketing and communications for financial services.

In addition to sending the press release to publications and websites, you can also send it out via a distribution or wire service. These services will send your press release out thousands of publications, and can help boost your SEO rankings.

Font is a company that can assist you and Becher can assist you in this.

Repurposing Your Content

Once your release is out, there are several ways to keep the news alive. First, be sure to post links to the press release from all your social media outlets – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  In addition to the link, post a bit of the story as well. Acme could tweet “More Good News from Acme”  and a link to the press release.

In addition, you can take the content of the press release and rework it into a blog post. Note that these are different communications channels, so you want to be sure you edit the content so that it reads more like a blog post and is more conversational.

This is a first step and creates positive Brand Values for your business - something you can grow on for other marketing and advertising.

Tony Park

Business Gardener

www.businessgardner.com.au